Marketa Vondrousova won her first Grand Slam trophy by outwitting Ons Jabeur for the third time this year. And she'll be quite busy on her first wedding anniversary.
Winning deal
So wow. Marketa Vondrousova becomes the Wimbledon champion a year after missing the tournament due to a wrist injury. "After everything I have been through it is amazing I can stand here and hold this," said the 24-year-old Czech as she clutched the Venus Rosewater Dish which is presented to the women's champion. "Tennis is crazy!" Very true. She is also the first unseeded woman to lift the main prize.
Happy husband and wife
Marketa Vondrousova used the hiatus last year to marry her beau Stepan Simek. He only turned up in Wimbledon a day before the final because he was at home in Prague looking after their pet cat Frankie. The couple managed to draft a cat sitter in and amid all the photo shoots the day after winning the women's singles title, they will celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Armed with just over 2.3 million euros in prize money for her efforts, Vondrousova hinted that Frankie might be in line for a superior cut of fish.
Trying times
She had so wanted to win the title for Tunisia. For Africa. For Arabs. But the final was 80 minutes of terrible percentages and poor choices for Ons Jabeur. Beaten in straight sets to lose her second consecutive Wimbledon final and her third at a Grand Slam tournament. "So many things that I should have maybe done," lamented Jabeur. "Not serving well did not help. Even if I did a good serve, she was there. My backhand wasn't here today." Jabeur, 28, vowed to try again. "I think things take time with me," she added. "It wasn't meant to be this time. Hopefully I will be like the other players that failed a couple of times to do it and it will come after."
There's never a reason not to mention The Specials. One of the band's songs came to mind while listening to Marketa Vondrousova recall her calvary when she contested the French Open final in 2019 against Ashleigh Barty. "I just remember it was such a stress. I just wanted to do well," she said. "It was a big thing at home. Everybody was talking about it. I think she just crushed me. It was very fast match and I didn't even enjoy it. I was very sad after. I just told myself if this happens again, you have to enjoy every moment." As Jabeur threatened to race away in both sets of the Wimbledon final, one of the remarkable things was Vondrousova's cool demeanour. "I think even if I had lost today, I wanted to enjoy this moment." She indeed made the most of the day.
Patriot games
At least the locals got a homegrown champion. Neal Skupsi won the men's doubles with his partner Wesley Koolhof. The top seeds beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4. It was Skupsi's third consecutive trophy at Wimbledon. In 2021 and 2022, he won the mixed doubles title. "I grew up watching Wimbledon on TV and then was playing tennis at the club with my dad and brother. It does not get better than this," said the 33-year-old Briton. And the wait goes on for a singles champion.
